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Everything posted by Nando_Morton

Hi, Casablancalover!
"In many ways, he's like you Gerry Oh, not you sense of play, or style or taste ..."
(or WHAT?)
Ha ha ha! WELL OBSERVED! I hadn't even noticed that one! But it now ranks as one of my favorite 'N.V' - '****?' moments (excuse my language!)
I also love how 'Cascades' is obviously some sort of Extreme Make-Over Beauty Parlour, too (in one shot, we see Charlotte 'very much changed' (even though she looks exactly the same as in the last scene), all dowdy and heavy eye-browded in her 'foulard' (whatever THAT is!), and the next, she's walking down the gang-plank looking EXACTLY like Bette Davis?? What HAPPENED IN BEWEEN??? Does intense psycho-analysis make one want to furiously pluck one's eyebrows???
It's almost as if Dr Jacquith gave her some sort of Electro Convulsive Shock Therapy, because - boy! She sure pulled her look together after her stint at Cascades!
Oh, I laugh NOW....but you should see the blubbering state I'm in when those scenes with Tina happen! And of course...let's not even TALK about 'not asking for the stars'!
That movie is one of the few (along with The Elephant Man....VERY different movie!) that genuinely reduce me to lumps-in-the-throat/biting-back-tears. (But, unlike 'N.V', here's no tongue-in-cheek levity in 'The Elephant Man'. I AM GOING TO STOP NOW BEFORE MAKING JOKEY PARALLELS (inc. dialogue)!

CONFESSION!....I read the book! (Ha ha!) And you know what? The kiss on the mountain after the car crash (it happens in Italy in the book) is as chaste as it comes! The two kiss, and then the next day, Charlotte wonders if she had just been dreaming that Jerry kissed her. And then, when they're in a cart or something being rescued, Jerry mentions the kiss, Charlotte makes a joke of it, and Jerry (who is totally American in the book and a bit gauche) says something like; 'Don't, Charlotte! Don't joke about it!'
But yeah....basically, it's a kiss. Period. I really thought that the book would at least hint that there had been a bit of hanky-panky, but no! (Maybe the reader was supposed to 'imagine more'...but honestly, I'm not sure that this was the case; it's really stated that they 'kissed', and that Charlotte was 'half sleeping' (when Jerry's lips touched hers, or something equally non-sexual).
So are we meant to infer that poor Charlotte gets NO **** for the rest of her life????
(Say it ain't so!)
(Ha ha!)

I think you're probably right, CM! (But I must confess....along with the laughter, there are the tears a manfully try to brush aside. Truly; I have concluded that (non-masculine as this might sound) Now Voyager is up there in my Top Ten Favorite Movies of All Time...EVER!

First of all, hello to all the wonderful posters on TCM forums (and hello Cinemaven!)
I have just moved house and in the misery of packing/unpacking/boxes, the only DVD I was able to lay my hands on last week was 'Now, Voyager', which I ended up watching about a million times (I don't have cable set up yet, so it was Charlotte Vale or nothing!)
Is it just me, or is there anyone else who - along with the 'tragedy' of this tale - also finds is incredibly (unintentionally) funny? There are truly times when I don't know whether to laugh or cry! Maybe it's because the drama is so 'high' throughout. Maybe it is wonderful Bette's performance? Is it because the emotional 'pitch' of the movie is consistently so fraught that we end up laughing at the most dramatic moments as a release? I don't know! I've been trying to figure it out. There are so many moments in this movie that I find myself re-winding for the 'comic value' (oh, SHAME on ME!). For example, the whole 'Aunt Charlotte's Got the Shakes' episode....and when Charlotte's sister-in-law, Lisa, goes to see her at the end of her treatment at 'Cascades', and Dr Jacquith (Claude Rains) tells Lisa not to be alarmed by Charlotte's appearance, that she'll find her 'very much changed', because she's 'lost a lot of weight'....and then we see Bette Davis looking EXACTLY THE SAME as in the last scene with her!
And then there's that beautiful moment when Jerry tells Charlotte that he's; 'taken the liberty of ordering Cointreau'. Ha ha! (What sort of girl did he TAKE her for, taking such LIBERTIES with her? Orange flavored after-dinnner liqueur? )
I have concluded after this week that Now, Voyager is, actually....My All Time Favorite Movie. It makes me laugh, it makes me cry, it makes me want to RIP Bette Davis' false eye-brows off...it makes me want to go on 'pleasure cruises' to Latin America! It makes me want to live in a huge, Boston mansion and have 'weenie roasts' (whatever THEY are.....can somebody tell me? You might remember, those of you who might remember me, that I'm not from 'round these parts, and the 'weenie roast' party is VERY confusing and a LITTLE bit scary for me!!!)
Anyway, I just wanted to stop by to say 'hi', and wax lyrically about what I think just might be the most imperfectly PERFECT movie of all time!

*BARGAR: Nando...Don't give in TOO much!! I will throw in a PB & J and a banana split with*
*nuts, whipped cream, and a cherry on top...IF you don't surrender!!*
LOL and.....Cue another movie cliche! Indecisive character standing between two opposing groups....he turns one way....he turns another...'Don't Surrender!' shouts one of the good guys....but he's already started to sell his soul....can he redeem himself? Can he EVER go back???? He turns....he's sweats....he turns again....eyes, huge and confused and imploring....DOES he have the courage to do what's right??? Or are the siren woos too much for a mere mortal???.......

Fabulously fun topic for a thread, Poinciana, and GREAT responses from the forum!
Here are mine...
Machiavelian: *Barbara Stanwyck* in 'The Strange Loves of Martha Ivers'
Psychopathic: *Peter Lorre* in 'M' (I would have said Robert Walker in 'Strangers on a Train', but you've already cited him)
Narcissistic: ANY of the *Plantagenet* family in 'The Lion in Winter' (what a bunch of egomaniacs!)
Message was edited by: Nando_Morton (because I changed my mind, like, seventy-two times!)

*Mickee: 'Wasted potential'.*
First off, it's not at ALL bizarre that Brando is one of your favorites, and I think that - had he lived up to the ENORMOUS potential of his early outings - he would probably be one of mine. But I think you totallly hit the nail on the head when you talked about him becoming apathetic after a while. I think that one of the problems with 'the method' is that, for actor's of Brando's intelligence, once it has been fully explored, then it's like solving a puzzle: once it's solved and mastered...then why keep doing it. Maybe that's why Brando became disinterested. I've said a few times that I love his early performances....and then, something happened, and I can hardly equate the 'older' Brando with his younger self. Yours was a VERY interesting post, and it's set me thinking about other actors who didn't live up to their original potential.

*Hello,Cinemaven:Youth is wasted on the young.*
LOLOL! LOVED the story of your Al-inspired subway buddy. Oh my....good old Oscar was right; youth really IS wasted on the young! (So thank GOD that age is spent WELL on the rest of us!)

*Hi, CINEMAVEN:Dude, you get the whole enchilada. Good make-up sex. Saaay, was Pacino in "Guys & Dolls"???*
LOL. I love having the whole enchilda (and who DOESN'T like good make-up sex?!?!?!) But I meant The Big B was in 'Guys and Dolls' (one can only imagine the heights of over-acting that Al would have gone to! Okay...sing this in the typical Pacino accent: 'Me...I'll KNOW when ma luv comes long...Me....I'll KNOW den and der...!'

*CINEMAVEN:Okay...that's a good start to make amends. We'll add jelly to your bread and water, though you might have a point there in his later work.*
Cinemaven, if I also say that I really liked him in 'Guys n' Dolls', do you think I can get some peanut-butter with that jelly. Oh! And if I say that I loved ol' Al in 'Glenn Gary, Glenn Ross' (one or two N's in those glenns?), do I get a glass of milk to wash it down with.

*Hi,CINEMAVEN:*
*Lulu is on my computer screen saver. She was intense and had a heck of a life too.*
Ah! It's great to discover I'm not the only Louise fan 'round these parts! 'Intense' is the PERFECT word for her, Cinemaven; I treated myself to a 'double-bill' of 'Diary of a Lost Girl' and 'Pandora's Box' the other day (I was having a Weimar moment), and I felt emotionally spent at the end of it all!

Sorry if somebody's already mentioned her, but what about....
*LOUISE BROOKS*
Sooooo pretty and sooooo charismatic! To my knowledge, she never did a 'talkie', but in my opinion, she narrated EVERYTHING with just a smile or a frown or a toss of her bobbed hair.
To quote the line from the musical 'Sunset Boulevard'...
"With one look you'll know all you need to know!"
(That's why she's my favorite silent star....as well as being up there with my 'Most Beautiful Actresses'. Not on the list to vote from, I know....but I just wanted an excuse to mention her. )

*KYLE: I wonder if "A Woman Seeks Her Destiny" is more of a tagline for the movie, since the title, Now Voyager, does appear on the poster.*
I don't think so in this case, Kyle: I think that the smaller 'Now, Voyager' is just the translation of the original title. I'm thinking of compiling a list of some of the worst French title translations. Might be fun. (Don't get me wrong; I'm half-French and have just left a 17 year stint in Paris, so this isn't 'French Bashing'....but I've gotta say; when it comes to 'getting' Anglo-American popular culture....the French just don't 'get it'. Fortunately, they've got a pretty strong popular culture of their own, though....so it all evens out in the end (I guess

"A WOMAN SEEKS HER DESTINY!" (why oh WHY do the French insist on changing titles??? I'm half French and it drives me NUTS...although I guess the ol' Walt Whitman phrase wouldn't translate with quite the right spirit.
And far from the poster being 'mediocre', I think it kicks butt! (I truly do; I'd love an original of it to hang on my wall).
THANK YOU FOR THAT, K-in-H !

*KYLE:Albert Brooks' Mother is a perfect representation of my relationship with my mother. Though "we" haven't gotten to the resolution found in the film yet.*
I think we must have the same mother, Kyle! Debbie Reynolds is so, so, soooo 'My Mother' in this movie (the endless fussing, the no-name products, the request that I dress up in something nice to go to the grocery store.....aaaaagghh!) As a consequence, this is my favorite performance by Debbie Reynolds (and - as with yourself - my mother and I haven't reached the pleasant resolution at the end of the movie yet).
Message was edited by: Nando_Morton (forgot to put Kyle's quote in bold)

*To Newclassicfilmfan.*
I do think his performance in 'Mutiny on the Bounty' was brilliant (and I also actually liked him in 'Guys n' Dolls', despite the fact that posterity has been less than kind about his performance in that movie.).

Hi, Cinemaven...and thank you answering my request and giving me the URL to this thread so that I could enjoy it, too. That was a wonderfully thoughtful, insightful and sensitive review of this astounding movie. I particularly liked the way you drew attention to the subtleties of Davis' performance, and also, the use of music (or lack of, sometimes) in the film. I'm very sensitive to soundtracks, and the music in The Letter was used to SUCH great and subtle effect. I remember thinking that when I viewed the movie a few weeks ago, so it was great to see that I wasn't alone in noticing this aspect.
This is a such an insightful piece of writing. Thank you! (And also, I really enjoyed the thoughts of other forum-members on the interesting thread that your review inspired.)
*As a footnote, I also agree that the only other actress who could have tackled this role to such self-serving, cold-hearted effect was Barbara Stanwyck....but I would think that, would I.

*Ennis:I'm just glad somebody mentioned THE CLOCK on the threads.*
That would be me, and it's so gratifying to know that I'm not alone in lovin' Judy as an actress. So natural and 'modern' and WAAAY ahead of her time, I reckon.

*POINCIANA: As far as naming other actors who I believe are overrated, well, I'm having trouble distinguishing who I think are overrated and who I can't stand! Maybe by qualifying which are which I won't get too battered and bruised...sometime later when I'm feeling braver.*
I'm interested in hearing the 'who you can't stand' list! (I have one of my own....but as with yourself, this will appear when I'm either (a) feeling braver, or ( have had too many cocktails and am feeling horribly reckless.

*HiCINEMAVEN: Under-Rated: DAN DURYEA*
A name you sadly never hear mentioned these days, especially sad after such a looong career and huge body of work.
*CINEMAVEN: Over-Rated: Awwww......do I have to?*
Oh....go on! (And if some of us could get away with putting Brando on our 'over-rated' list and still have our heads intact, I think we can conclude that this is a pretty tolerant thread (although, in saying that, I haven't yet made public my belief that Al Pacino is insanely over-rated.....okay! Now I must run for the hills and take cover!)